US4037706A — Composite print wheel

Claim 1

Independent Claim 217 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section, said center section having an opening in the center thereof and a plurality of apertures spaced around the center opening and positioned between the center opening and the beams, character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, and plastic hub means having a plurality of projections, each of which extends through a respective one of the apertures in the insert member and coacts with the insert member to fixedly couple the hub means to the insert member, said print element having an inertia of from about 6.4 × 10 - 4 in-oz-sec 2 to about 8.0 × 10 - 4 in-oz-sec 2 .

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 217 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section, said center section having an opening in the center thereof and a plurality of apertures spaced around the center opening and positioned between the center opening and the beams, character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, and plastic hub means having a plurality of projections, each of which extends through a respective one of the apertures in the insert member and coacts with the insert member to fixedly couple the hub means to the insert member, said print element having an inertia of from about 6.4 × 10 - 4 in-oz-sec 2 to about 8.0 × 10 - 4 in-oz-sec 2 .

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 14 words

The print element of claim 1 having an outside radius of about 1.55 inches.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 37 words

The print element of claim 1 wherein the hub means includes a keyway for fixedly aligning the print element relative to a shaft for rotating the print element to position selected character slugs adjacent a printing path.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 35 words

The print element of claim 1 wherein the beams have a substantially different cross-sectional shape at the ends engageable with the character slugs compared to a generally constant cross-section of the beams along their length.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 35 words

The print element of claim 4 wherein said beams include a section near the ends engageable with the character slugs that has substantially less cross-sectional area than the generally constant cross-sectional portions of the beams.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 29 words

The print element of claim 5 wherein said beam cross-section near the outer end includes a neck formed by generally semi-circularly shaped cutouts on opposite sides of the beam.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 38 words

The print element of claim 1 wherein the length of each beam is from about 0.4 to about 0.6 times the outside radius of the print element as determined by the larger circle inscribed upon rotating the element.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 16 words

The print element of claim 1 wherein said character slugs include a fiberglass reinforced phenolic resin.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 21 words

The print element of claim 8 further including a metallic coating over at least the printing surface of said character slugs.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 19 words

The print element of claim 1 further including damper means coupled to the beams to alter their deflection properties.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 14 words

The print element of claim 10 wherein the damper means includes a fabric member.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 14 words

The print element of claim 11 wherein said fabric member includes an elastomer material.

Claim 14

Dependent Claim 170 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section, character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section extending beyond the end of a beam and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, hub means coupled to the center section of the insert member and engageable by a drive shaft, said hub means includes flag means extending radially outward a distance so as to expose a previously printed character when properly positioned relative thereto.

Claim 15

Dependent Claim 170 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section, character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section extending beyond the end of a beam and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, hub means coupled to the center section of the insert member and engageable by a drive shaft, said hub means includes flag means extending radially outward a distance so as to expose a previously printed character when properly positioned relative thereto.

Claim 16

Dependent Claim 37 words

The print element of claim 13 having an outside radius of about 1.55 inches and an inertia of about from 6.4 × 10 - 4 in-oz-sec 2 to about 8.0 × 10 - 4 in-oz-sec 2 .

Claim 17

Dependent Claim 37 words

The print element of claim 13 wherein the hub means includes a keyway for fixedly aligning the print element relative to a shaft for rotating the print element to position selected character slugs adjacent a printing path.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 44 words

The print element of claim 13 wherein said flag means includes a cross-hair for referencing printed characters including a straight edge for underlining a printed character and a single pointer normal to the straight edge aligned to one side of the underlined printed character.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 35 words

The print element of claim 13 wherein the beams have a substantially different cross-sectional shape at the ends engageable with the character slugs compared to a generally constant cross-section of the beams along their length.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 35 words

The print element of claim 17 wherein said beams include a section near the ends engageable with the character slugs that has substantially less cross-sectional area than the generally constant cross-sectional portions of the beams.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 29 words

The print element of claim 18 wherein said beam cross-section near the outer end includes a neck formed by generally semi-circularly shaped cutouts on opposite sides of the beam.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 38 words

The print element of claim 13 wherein the length of each beam is from about 0.4 to about 0.6 times the outside radius of the print element as determined by the larger circle inscribed upon rotating the element.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 22 words

The print element of claim 13 wherein said insert member includes a 0.006 inch thick cold-reduced, Condition C, 17-7 PH stainless steel.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 16 words

The print element of claim 13 wherein said character slugs include a fiberglass reinforced phenolic resin.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 21 words

The print element of claim 22 further including a metallic coating over at least the printing surface of said character slugs.

Claim 26

Dependent Claim 19 words

The print element of claim 13 further including damper means coupled to the beams to alter their deflection properties.

Claim 27

Dependent Claim 14 words

The print element of claim 24 wherein the damper means includes a fabric member.

Claim 28

Dependent Claim 14 words

The print element of claim 25 wherein said fabric member includes an elastomer material.

Claim 29

Dependent Claim 160 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member of about 0.006 inch thick cold reduced, condition, C, 17-7 PH stainless steel having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section. character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section extending beyond the end of a beam and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, and hub means coupled to the center section of the insert member and engageable by a drive shaft.

Claim 30

Dependent Claim 160 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member of about 0.006 inch thick cold reduced, condition, C, 17-7 PH stainless steel having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section. character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section extending beyond the end of a beam and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, and hub means coupled to the center section of the insert member and engageable by a drive shaft.

Claim 31

Dependent Claim 215 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section, said center section having an opening in the center thereof and a plurality of apertures spaced around the center opening and positioned between the center opening and the beams, character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, and plastic hub means having a plurality of projections, each of which extends through a respective one of the apertures in the insert member and coacts with the insert member to fixedly couple the hub means to the insert member, said hub means includes flag means extending radially outward a distance so as to expose a previously printed character when properly positioned relative thereto.

Claim 32

Dependent Claim 215 words

A print element for an impact printer comprising: a metal alloy insert member having a plurality of beams extending radially outward from a center section, said center section having an opening in the center thereof and a plurality of apertures spaced around the center opening and positioned between the center opening and the beams, character slugs molded to the ends of the beams, said character slugs having an impact surface engageable by hammer means for deflecting the character slug toward a record medium enabling a print surface on the slug to cooperate in a process for marking the record medium, each of said character slugs including a print section and a capture section for coupling to the end of a beam whereby the energy imparted to the character slug by the hammer means is substantially reflected in stresses in the print section of a character slug rather than the capture section, and plastic hub means having a plurality of projections, each of which extends through a respective one of the apertures in the insert member and coacts with the insert member to fixedly couple the hub means to the insert member, said hub means includes flag means extending radially outward a distance so as to expose a previously printed character when properly positioned relative thereto.

Claim 33

Dependent Claim 44 words

The print element of claim 28 wherein said flag means includes a cross-hair for referencing printed characters including a straight edge for underlining a printed character and a single pointer normal to the straight edge aligned to one side of the underlined printed character.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1980-07-25	1981-01-24	1981-07-26	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1984-07-25	1985-01-24	1985-07-26	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1988-07-25	1989-01-24	1989-07-26	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Composite print wheel

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